DC-EU Zeus.
Eleven months had passed since the Metropolitan War between Superman and General Zod.
The city had been rebuilt.
Peace had returned.
People had just emerged from the fog of the Kryptonian war, but not long after that…
As a result, an even greater catastrophe followed.
No one knew where that purple monster had come from.
People only knew the terrible price Earth's heroes had paid fighting against it.
Metropolis had been turned into scorched earth!
Dozens of kilometers of buildings were destroyed!
The collapse of skyscrapers!
As far as the eye could see, there wasn't a single intact building!
Gotham City was leveled to the ground, and the battle had torn the earth apart, submerging half the city into the sea!
Millions of people lost their lives!!
If Superman hadn't moved the battlefield from Earth into space, the number of casualties would have been many times greater!!
But even in space…
This great battle still shook the Earth!
Today, every time people looked up at night, they could see that the Moon was forever missing a piece.
As if some mythical creature had taken a bite out of it.
The word "full moon" had disappeared forever from human language.
This war not only shook the Earth, but also shattered the illusion of invincible superhumans in the DC world!
Before that…
The main superheroes on the side of light had mostly been Superman and Batman.
But when that purple monster appeared…
Many other heroes emerged on Earth, and even some villains who had hidden their identities, and all joined the battle!
…
After the war.
Superman had turned the Kryptonian spaceship that had crashed in the Arctic into a prison.
He named it, the Fortress of Solitude.
And now…
Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Cyborg…
Even villains like Deathstroke, King Shark, Peacemaker… and many others who had fought in that battle were now gathered in the Fortress of Solitude, only to guard the prisoner confined deep beneath it.
At the same time, he was the only prisoner in the depths of the Fortress of Solitude!
"I thought there weren't that many superhumans on Earth?"
Batman looked at the group of assembled heroes and powerful beings, and a feeling of unease grew in his heart.
These powers were too dangerous!
Like Superman's!
His power was so great that if he ever decided to walk the path of evil, almost nothing could stop him!
Batman's nature was similar to that of Tony Stark from the Marvel world.
Both had a strong sense of crisis and saw everything beyond their control as a threat!
That was why Tony Stark had prepared a series of special armors: anti-Hulk, anti-Thor… and others.
And now…
Batman felt he had to do the same.
He had to prepare a plan, a plan to counter all metahumans, whether heroes or villains.
A plan that would exploit each of their weaknesses.
"Oh, God… your look is terrifying."
Flash noticed the way Batman was looking at everyone around him, and a shiver suddenly ran down his spine.
Instinctively, he stepped back a few steps, as if wanting to increase the distance between himself and him.
Wonder Woman also slightly frowned and quietly stepped away from Batman.
Not to mention the other villains, although Batman was the only one in the field without any superpowers, everyone instinctively kept their distance from him.
Because in his gaze…
Whether heroes or villains, all felt an inexplicable chill.
"All right."
"Let's all be quiet."
Fortunately, at that moment Superman, Clark Kent, and Martian Manhunter stepped forward.
In an instant, all eyes turned to the Martian Manhunter.
The green-skinned Martian possessed powerful telepathic abilities, he could read the thoughts and memories of other beings.
But…
When faced with the expectations of everyone present, Martian Manhunter only helplessly shook his head.
"Despite being severely injured, his will is still the strongest I have ever felt."
"Moreover, it seems he has specifically trained to resist telepathic attacks."
"My abilities simply don't work on him."
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"But… I did manage to pull out something. I got his name."
"He calls himself Thanos… the Mad Titan, Ruler of the Universe."
"Judging by his tone, he doesn't seem to be lying, and his strength really is at the level to rule the entire universe."
"The problem is… I've traveled the galaxies for many years and have never heard of him."
When Martian Manhunter finished, everyone looked at Superman.
His origin as a Kryptonian was already known to the entire world after last year's battle against General Zod.
"People, I grew up on Earth," said Clark simply, shaking his head.
With those words, he immediately dispelled any doubts some might have held.
"So what now?"
"How are we going to deal with this… Cosmic Overlord, Thanos?" asked Wonder Woman.
"What else can we do?"
"Kill him, of course!"
Aquaman struck his trident against the ground with such force that the sound echoed throughout the room.
His other arm, however, had been torn off by Thanos in the battle on the Moon.
Now he could only keep the limb raised and bandaged, becoming almost a symbolic version of a one-armed hero from the sea.
"Killing him won't solve it."
"We need to find out where Thanos came from and what brought him here."
"And that purple gem…" added Batman, his gaze falling on Cyborg.
The half-man, half-machine held the purple gemstone in his metal hand while scanning it with his robotic eye.
"While Thanos and I were fighting on the Moon," said Superman in a deep voice, "he pulled out that gem. It looked like he was trying to activate some kind of attack on me… but in the end… nothing happened."
Even so, Thanos had been the most terrifying enemy Clark had faced so far, more terrifying even than General Zod himself.
"So… this gem is some sort of weapon?"
Wonder Woman looked at the purple stone in Cyborg's hand.
It had to be admitted that the gem was fascinating in appearance, transparent, yet eerily luminous.
"More than that…"
Cyborg's voice suddenly trembled, as if he had just realized something terrifying.
"This gem contains an incredibly powerful energy within!"
"Even if just a small fraction of that energy leaked out…"
"It would be enough to completely destroy the planet we stand on!"
"Not even you, Clark… not even you, Man of Steel, could withstand that power!"
His words fell like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
"What!?"
The faces of all present suddenly froze in shock.
Even Superman, who was always steadfast, visibly flinched, realizing how lucky they had been that Thanos hadn't activated the gem's power.
Bang!
Suddenly, while everyone was still trying to digest those words, Cyborg abruptly threw the gem onto the steel table.
"Shit!!"
Deathstroke was so frightened that he instinctively stumbled backward and fell to the floor.
Many immediately stepped back a few steps as well, including Superman.
"Cyborg! Have you completely lost your mind!?"
Aquaman spat out angrily through gritted teeth.
However, the expression on Cyborg's face was extremely serious as he shook his head.
"Things like this… must not exist in our world."
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